Akali sat on one of the benches in front of Noodle Bill's. It wasn't that busy of a morning, but Kai'sa was late. An infrequent occurrence.
"So, the usual?" the mustached man asked behind the counter. His bushy white eyebrows wiggled as he waited for Akali's answer.
"Hah, hey, Bill. Yeah, but uh, not yet. I'm waiting on Kai. She's late..." Akali said with concern, staring down the direction she would come from. And before the Ramen Extrordinair could even speak, Kai appeared from around the corner.
"Ah, nothing to worry about. Two bowls of your favorites are coming right up! And don't worry, I'll toss a couple of extra seasoned eggs for you." he said with a contagious smile.
"You're the best." Akali answered before turning back towards Kai as she got closer.
Kai'sa clutched her book to her chest, her bracelet dangling from her wrist. Though, she looked exhausted. She had circles under her eyes, and her face was slightly more pale than usual. She walked over and sat on the bench next to Akali.
"Sorry, I'm late... I... Overslept." she said sheepishly, placing her book down on the counter of Bill's stall.
"You look like you didn't sleep at all, Kai... Was it those stupid nightmares again?" Akali couldn't take her eyes off her friend, even as the two bowls of Ramen were placed on the counter. Bill was wise enough not to interrupt them, just giving them an empathic expression before moving on to another customer further down the stall.
Kai'sa nodded slowly, her eyes meeting with Akali's, "Mhm... I think I'm getting used to it now, though." she lied, trying to lessen Akali's worry. She'd then turn towards the bowl Bill provided her, pulling it closer with both hands, "Thank you, Bill."
"You're a bad liar, Kai." she said in return, but there was nothing else she could do for now other than be with her. Akali turned towards her own bowl. Morning Ramen was typically celebrated, especially when it's all paid for by Kai. Seeing her like this was just too abnormal, "Nilah will know what to do. She knows everything. Let's just hope she doesn't get too excited about it." she'd pull her bowl close, then look to Kai with a smirk.
Kai'sa smiled before giving Akali a subtle nod, "You're probably right, 'Kali." she answered with a hopeful tone, then the two girls dug into their freshly cooked breakfast.
The walk to school was as usual as any other, spotting Rakan trying to swat away Xayah's hand on the bench just outside the main doors,
"Don't touch the hair! This took hours!" Rakan pleaded before Xayah twisted one of his turquoise locks of hair into a fancy twirl, much to his disapproval.
Akali watched the lovers as she walked passed them, then slowly looked over and up to Kai'sa, a tnge of red flushing into her cheeks.
"You should let me do something crazy to your hair." she blurted out, then quickly looked ahead, inwardly scolding herself.
Kai looked at her with a single raised eyebrow, then caught a glimpse of Rakan and Xayah off to the side before smiling down at Akali, "Sounds fun." she said before pulling open the front door to the school.
The two walked shoulder to shoulder as they made their way to class.
"Akali... 'Kali!" Ekko whisper-shouted, trying to get her attention. Meanwhile, Akali was doodling poorly drawn illustrations of star daggers stuck into a caricature of their math teacher. It was only when Ekko reached out with his leg and nudged her desk did she look over at him.
"I'm not giving you my homework so you can copy it, Ekko." she muttered, briefly looking up towards the front of the class to ensure the teacher didn't hear her.
"Not like you did it anyway. You probably just copied from Kai'sa." he teased. He wasn't wrong, "That's not what I was gonna ask anyway. I just noticed Kai looks a bit tired lately. Everything okay?"
Akali sighed, her eyes slowly shifting towards Kai, who sat at the desk beside her. She looked as if she could barely keep her eyes open. She'd then look back down at her work of art.
"No. We'll talk after school, at training." Akali sounded like she was suffering as much as Kai when she spoke. Her brows furrowed as she continued to draw.
"Are you good, 'Kali?" he asked, knowing just how much the two girls meant to each other. After the events of Morgana's attack, Ekko spent a lot of time at the Arcade with Akali, while Kai was busy with Volunteer work with her dad at the shelter.
It was always a competitive rivalry between the two. But being around each other was also a good outlet for them to talk about their problems. Specifically, ones that involved the other special person in their lives.
1 Month Ago.
"Wow. You totally like her. Like, like like her, 'Kali." Ekko teased as they were both trying to take down the Gromp boss in "Super Gromp Fighter IV"
"Wh-what!?" Akali shouted with wide eyes, blushing furiously, "I-I-, yeah, she's my friend, of course I like her!" Akali lost focus and ended up getting one shot by the boss, causing her to huff in frustration before stepping away from the machine, "You did that on purpose." Akali grumbled, giving Ekko the side-eye.
Ekko laughed, dying in-game shortly after Akali did, "Yeah. But seriously... It's obvious. I mean, I rarely hear you talk about aaaanything else when we're here. Not that I mind, it's cute." Ekko leaned on the arcade machine as he focused on Akali.
She was still blushing, her hand fidgeting with the friendship bracelet on her wrist, uncertain what to say.
"Are you two like... Keepin' it a secret or something?" he asked, worrying he might have just overstepped.
"She doesn't know..." she whispered back, finally letting herself look at Ekko. It was the first time she had ever admitted these feelings to anyone. It felt a bit liberating for her.
"Huh? Really? Why not? You know she totally likes you that way as well, right?" he pushed. He then glanced over towards Sona, who had racked up twenty kills and zero deaths in her Valorant match so far. Ekko shook his head.
"Don't make fun of me, Ekko..." she answered, not believing Kai felt the same.
"I'm not!" she answered, looking back to Akali. Then took a step closer. "Look, you gotta tell her... This is gonna eat you up forever if you don't. And you never know what could happen, and you could lose your chance..." Ekko reached out, put a hand on her shoulder, and shook her.
"I can't... I could ruin everything." Akali frowned and turned back towards the Arcade machine. However, she was still doubtful of Kai's reciprocation. Nevertheless, Ekko's words gave her hope.
"It won't... But fine, I'll drop it for now. Ready to lose again?" Ekko turned back towards the machine, getting ready for a second round.
Back to the Present
"I'll be fine... We just gotta figure out what's going on." Akali answered Ekko.
"Akali! Do you have something to say to the class?" Mrs. Plumbly shouted.
The rest of the school day was not too memorable. However, seeing the other guardians around now, like Ahri, or Sarah Fortune, was still weird for her. They were all a year ahead of her, but it was not uncommon for Akali to run into Xayah or Ahri by Noodle Bills. Though she would never admit it to anyone, she looked up to the both of them. The two of them had their struggle, but in the end, they cared about one another. They care about their team and bond and do not see the First Light as some savior the same as herself.
Akali left her last class for the day and walked through the school's front door to look for Kai, who was currently stopping Rell from beating up another school Bully. Rell always meant well, but she could be far more diplomatic with handling things.
"Rell, let him go. We've gone over this!" Kai shouted but was far too exhausted to step in herself. Thankfully Taliya and Quinn showed up, convincing Rell to stop lifting the boy by his shirt.
Kai exhaled in relief, then sat down on the same bench they had seen Xayah and Rakan seated on before school. Akali was quick to take a seat next to her. The rest of the Guardians were speaking to each other next to Rell.
"Sup! Uh, are you sure you're gonna be up for training today? We could just talk to Nilah, then I dunno... Get some boba?" Akali mentioned as she leaned her shoulder into Kai's.
Kai shook her head, "We took yesterday off, 'Kali... We can't just keep skipping training... We need to be ready." Kai answered, before yawning into her hand.
"We don't need to kill ourselves in the process, though, Kai... The other guardians are here now. So we don't have to put this all on ourselves anymore. No one is gonna blame you for taking a few days off. You can barely stay awake!" Akali was beginning to grow frustrated, and she knew that it was unlikely she'd be able to change Kai's mind.
"Just because the others are back doesn't mean we can just push it all onto them. We need to do our part." Kai brushed her pink hair back, tucking it behind her ear before looking toward Akali.
Akali sighed, looking down at her lap in defeat. Moments later, she could feel Kai's hand rest on top of hers on her lap.
"How about this... We make it short? Then we go back to my place for dinner? Dad is going to be at the shelter pretty late tonight." she offered, squeezing her hand.
"Fine..." Akali relented; at least she was willing to compromise. And she got to use Kai's fancy kitchen after as well. And likely make a complete mess. She held onto Kai's hand tightly before looking over to the others, spotting Ekko give her a look, his eyes darting to Kai for a moment, then back to Akali. She just shook her head and looked away.
"Oh, hey, Nilah!" Kai called out, spotting the outer guardian walk up to the group. A warm smile twisted onto the Captain's lips.
"Hello, Kai'sa, it's always a joy to see all of you together." she answered as she looked over the gathering of guardians, "Now. Off to our usual spot, hmm?" her question came off as more of a statement, and the two girls seated beside each other rose to their feet.
"Actually, we had something we wished to talk to you about first." Kai mentioned, getting the attention of the other guardians as well, "To all of you." Kai took a deep breath, then began to walk off towards their training area. The others followed behind her.
They used an abandoned field far out in the woods, it was high up, and if you went to the tree line, you could look over most of the city. The field itself was hardly a field anymore. Most of the grass was gone due to its use as a training field. And starlight, magic, and fighting that is constantly used or done in the area has turned the grass into dirt.
There were several boulders in the area as well, thanks to Taliya. It helped them utilize cover in practice.
They gathered off to the side of the field, where a makeshift camp was constructed. Chairs, tents, tables. A cooler that was occasionally filled with ice and drinks such as water, juices, or bottled tea.
"What's going on, Captain? You called off yesterday's practice, and you look exhausted today." Quinn asked, standing off to the side with Rell and Taliya.
Akali stood next to Kai, just a few feet off the side, to give her some space to explain.
"I've... I've been having nightmares. Visions. A voice in my head, images." she began, her eyes looking over to Nilah, who listened on with a smile.
"Visions?" She repeated but did not say anything further.
"Yes... A voice too. It tells me, 'The Cycle Cannot Be Broken.' Calls me the daughter of light. That his forces will descend upon us like locusts." Kai took a deep breath after speaking, but she could feel Akali's hand rest on her shoulder, brightening her spirit just enough.
"It's okay, Kai..." Akali whispered.
Nilah then lifted her hand, repeating another hymn to herself a few more times than usual.
"A great threat looms on the horizon, young guardians." Nilah said with excitement, "A battle far greater than anything you have faced so far, we must be ready to meet this foe gloriously." Nilah smiled brightly in her typical, over-enthusiastic manner.
This statement earned the attention of everyone present, expecting her to elaborate further.
"Do you know what it is? What any of this means?" Kai pressed with desperation in her voice. These nightmares have been plaguing her for months. She just wanted it to stop.
Nilah nodded, "I do. Now come here." Nilah stepped forth, gesturing for Kai'sa to come closer.
Akali squeezed Kai's shoulder, then let it fall back to her side, watching as Kai moved in front of Nilah. The rest of the guardians watched silently, curious about what would happen next.
Nilah closed her eyes and pressed her index and middle fingers against Kai'sa's forehead, the contact causing a bright glow of light. Nilah winced at first, but her ever-present smile of joy returned to her lips before long. Moments later, she lowered her hand.
"There. Your mind should no longer be connected to the Dark Star." Nilah stepped back.
"What... How? And wait, wait, what is the Dark Star!?" Kai asked, lifting her hand to rub the spot on her forehead.
"How does not matter... First, though, we must all prepare for the future. The other guardians should be alerted to this as well, we will need everyone to face this threat when it arrives." Nilah added, then sage-nodded.
"Xayah and Ahri are gonna want to know, for sure." Ekko spoke out, resting his board over his shoulder, "I don't really know any of them. So. I'll leave that leg work to you guys." Ekko then received a punch to his arm by Sona.
"S-Sona says... Oh no... Do I ha- Okay! Sona says stop being so lazy..." Chiizu said for her, bracing itself in fear of being struck again. But thankfully, Ekko squeezed between them.
"Wow... Always givin' me a hard time Chiizu." he jested, knowing very well it wasn't the familiar's choice.
"It wasn't me!" Chiizu exclaimed.
"It's fine, I can go tell them." Kai responded before letting out another yawn. She looked exhausted.
Akali shook her head, "I'll do it, Kai. You're gonna need to rest. I'll tell Xayah tomorrow and Ahri if I can find her." Akali stated firmly, she was not going to let Kai's stubbornness win out over her own this time.
Thankfully, Kai was too tired to argue. She knew that Akali had always looked up to Xayah and Ahri.
"Alright, 'Kali." she answered, taking a deep breath. Her eyes could barely stay open, and she began to lean heavily to the left, but thankfully Akali was there to support her. Kai'Sa couldn't remember the last time she felt this tired. Perhaps when she was working herself overtime for that petition and the shelter?
"Guys, are we all okay with just taking one more day off? She needs sleep..." Kai pleaded as she looked at the rest of the group.
"I'm fine, really." Kai protested. But it did not seem like anyone was buying it. Everyone agreed that taking the night off for Kai's sake was the right call. Now that she'd be able to get some sleep. It's not like everyone found the training to be the most fun of activities anyway, especially during such nice weather in the summer. So, a couple of days off didn't seem like a big deal as long as they didn't make a habit of it.
On the other hand, Akali wouldn't mind taking the whole month off. But she knew that Kai relied on her to be there. As much as she tried to take on the role of leader on her own, they were co-captains. And Akali was not going to let Kai take that burden on by herself ever again.
Outnumbered, Kai'Sa relented. So everyone went off in their own directions. Ekko went with Sona, practicing sign language with her as he walked her home. Quinn and Rell walked with Taliya off to the daily manga eating competition, most likely.
No one knows where Nilah goes off to.
Now Akali was walking Kai'sa home, "As much as I'd like to make a mess of your kitchen with you, Kai... I think we should just get you in bed. Otherwise, we might burn the house down. Kassadad wouldn't be too happy about that." Akali held onto Kai's book for her as they walked down the path through the trees, the sunlight barely cracking its way through the forest canopy above, dimly lighting their way back to the city. She felt relieved. Things were looking up again.
"Sorry..." Kai'sa whispered, feeling bad about her plans falling through.
"Shut up. It's not your fault, Kai." she snapped back, looking at her with a subtle smile, "We can always do it on the weekend."
"Deal." Kai answered, smiling back at Akali.
The two finally reached Kai's home, and since Kassadin's car was not in the driveway, he must have been at the shelter already. Akali helped her inside, and as she was getting dressed, Akali made her way into the kitchen to make some tea for her.
"Here you go. It's hot, so be careful." Akali carefully handed over a cup of tea to Kai, sitting on the side of her bed. Akali couldn't help but admire how cute she was when in her pajamas. She always looks so proper, so seeing her in a shirt that looked a couple of sizes too big for her was heart-warming.
"Thank you, 'Kali... For looking out for me like this. I know I am terrible at doing it for myself." Kai'sa said quietly before taking a tiny sip from the cup.
"Pfft, that's what best friends are for." Akali answered before sitting down on the bed beside her. Her eyes lingered on Kai's features for a few moments. She just wanted to kiss her and tell her everything would be alright. To protect her this time, as Kai had always protected her. Then Ekko's advice from months ago surfaced in her mind.
"Is everything alright, 'Kali?" Kai asked, looking into Akali's eyes curiously.
"Kai... I..." she began, followed by a silence as they both looked at each other. Akali knew what she wanted to say. She wanted to say it so badly right now. But she couldn't, not now. The time would have to be perfect... But would there ever be an ideal time?
Akali shook her head, glancing down to the floor, "Nothing, I was just going to ask if you wanted to listen to music before I went home. I still have to finish that science project for tomorrow."
Kai almost looked disappointed but then smiled shortly after, "Of course! I'll fall asleep in no time. Kai went and dug out their old headphones, the ones they used to listen to music together before they were guardians. They each put them on before connecting to her phone wirelessly.
They laid on Kai's bed together, music in their ears as their eyes met, their bracelets lightly pressing against each other as their hands connected.
Kai closed her eyes. The moment whisked her mind away to memories of another time when the world's fate was not resting on their shoulders.
Akali did the same, hoping that one day she would be brave enough to tell Kai how she really felt.
Akali had fallen asleep with Kai on her bed. The only reason she had woken up was Kai's dad closing the front door and calling out for Kai'sa. The music in their headphones had stopped playing at this point, and Akali looked over to her friend to see if she had woken up.
Nope. Kai was out like a light. She looked so peaceful, perfect, pretty, Kai'sa... So Akali used her friend-jitsu abilities to climb off the bed carefully. Once that mission was accomplished, Kai was still soundly asleep. She looked out the window.
Crap.
It was dark outside!? How long has she been laying there for? Akali quickly pulled her phone out of her pocket.
10:00 PM
3 Missed Calls from Mom
"Shit, shit, shit." she muttered before hearing Kassadin call out towards Kai'sa again, causing Akali to look over in hopes she was still sleeping. Kai needs her rest, and she deserves it more than anyone. So she quickly tip-toed out of the room, carefully closing the door behind her.
"Akali?" Kassadin said in surprise, "Aren't you here a little late?"
Akali froze in place, "Yeah, I uh. Fell asleep... Kai was really tired, so we came home. She's asleep. I'm sorry..." Akali answered, her hands fidgeting in front of herself.
Kassadin shook his head, letting out a chuckle, "It's fine, kid. Do you want a ride home?" he offered.
Akali shook her head as well, "No... I like walking, you know. I'm not in any rush to get back. Especially now that I'm late." Akali answered, not looking forward to what kind of lecture she would get when she got home. Maybe she was asleep? Hopeful thinking 'Kali.
Kassadin gazed down at her sympathetically, "You can stay here the night if you like, 'Kali. It's fine."
That offer was tempting. It really was. But that would just make tomorrow even worse—the thought of waking up and seeing Kai'sa in the morning. Having breakfast together, then walking from her house to school. It would be a dream. Knowing she couldn't say yes pained her.
"I can't... But, maybe another time?" Akali answered, not wanting to let go of this chance forever.
Kassadin nodded, "Of course. You're always welcome here, you know. Anytime." his eyes glanced towards the door to Kai's room, then back to Akali, who was staring back at it as well.
"Kai'Sa cares about you a lot, Akali." he said, though she was unsure why.
"I know... Thank you, Kassadad." she'd then move over to hug the man. After losing her own father when she was young, her house was never the same. Kai coming into her life had changed everything, and as their friendship grew, Kassadin almost became like an adoptive father to her.
He smiled as he gave her a light hug back.
Akali then made her way out of the house. She hasn't been outside this late for quite some time. Since the festival? She thought to herself. Akali then felt a chill on the back of her neck, and her eyes quickly darted off to the side of the road, into a patch of trees between the houses.
"Is someone there?" she called out, but there was nothing. She couldn't see anything. Instead, she had an eerie feeling, like she was being watched. This sensation made her walk faster. But, whatever it was, she did not want to deal with it tonight.